Storage-battery separator



Now. 118, N24- 1 1,515,738

L. VC. HIATT ET AL STORAGE BATTERY SEPARATOR Filed Sent. 24 1912;

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To all whom itmayconcem, j

Be it knownthat wc,'LAWrnNon C., HIAT'r and DALLAS L; Poirrm, citizens of the United States, and residents of Atlantic, in the countyof Cass and State otIowa, have invented certain new and useful Im rovements in Storage-Battery Separators, o` whiehthe following is a specification.` g V @ur rinvention relates to secondary batteries, and particularlypto portable storage batteries ofthe'type commonl 4used for starting-and-lightin systems o motor vehicles, and where t efbattery is subjected, whenin use,

normal deteriorative eects due to re eated chargingand discharging thereof. Ity is the object ofour invention to inexpensive and durableA separator for the plates used in such batteries, the separator being adapted to afford between the battery plates a maximum unobstructed area of crosssection for the electrolyte, while positively preventing contact between the lates byv warping or buckling thereof or y bodily lateral displacement. A further object of our invention is` to provide a plate separator adapted to avoid the lodgemcnt between battery plates of material loosened from the bodies of the plates, and to permit the deposit of such loosened material in the space provided therefor at the bottom of the jar, whereby to prevent such material forming a bridge o'r short-circuiting connection between adjacent plates. A -further object of our invention is to provide a separator for battery plates having simple means torsupporting and retaining the same in proper relation to the plates, and a'ording space for the withdrawal of samples of the electrolyte for testing purposes.

ln the accompanying drawings Fig. `1 is a perspective view of a battery equipped with separators embodying our invention, the jar being in section or broken away to disclose the interior structure and arrangement, Fig. 2 is a side view of one of the separators, and Fig. 3 is a detail horizontal section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Referring to Fig. 1, there is re ordinary battery jar t having 1n the lower portion thereof a series of transverse ribs 5 between which are spaces 6 forming the socalled mud-cellar for recei' the sediment resulting from disntegraton of the or the battery plates 7 has at plates, Each one. nrrn nannies n roarnngorarnaltrrdrow to considerable vmechanical vi-v bration, swaying and jarring, aslde from thel provide a` simple,

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one, end an `upwardly projecting lugI 8, the.

lugs'on the positiveplates being at one end of thejar, and those on ythe `negative plates being at the opposite end, the several lugs at the respective ends being connected tothe bars 9 and 10 which carry the terminal-posts 1l and 12.: `The lower edges of the plates rest upon the upper edges of the` transverse ribs, and theterminal posts extend through" the jar-cover(not sl 1own). Vllt will be understood that all of theforegoing structure"` is common and well-known, and is showntmerely tolclearlyillustrate the assemblage and structural yinvironment whenl 1n use.

of our separators Each of the separators an j integral body, preferably ofr vulcanite or. similar electrical insulatin material of considerable-strength and rigi ity, and each separator comprises. anlupper horizontal bar-portion 13; with a,

series of vertical bars or lingers la extending downwardly therefrom. The adjacent edges of the fingers 14, and the lower edges of the bar 13, between the fingers', arebeveled at both sides as shown clearly in'Fig. 3. Thev upper edge of the bar 13 has a notch or recess 15 at the central portion thereof and at points intermediate said recess and the ends of the bar there are circular openings 16, as shown. Said openin 16 are for receivin the su porting-rods ls, which are formed 0% suitablld insulating material such as vulcanite, two of the rods being passed throu h the alined openings of the entire series o separators, as shown in Fig. 1. The parts are so proportioned that when the lower ends of the fingers 14: are even with the lower edges of the battery-plates, the rods 17 will rest on the upper edges of the of the series of lugs 8, whereby to prevent longitudinal shitin of the separators relative to the plates. T e relation of each separator to the adjacent plates will be clearly apparent from Fig. 2, wherein the outline of one of the lates is shown b the dotted lines It will he unde, o course, that one of the separators is disposedbetween each, adjacent pfair of the battery-plates. The upper ges o the recesses 15, are slightly above the upper edges of the plates so that the appearance of said portions 'of the separators above the electrolyte serves to indicate to the user' the necessity for adding to 'the electrol to bring the same to a proper height int e jar plates, each of the rodsv 4also resting inst the inner edges of one the separators, at the bottoms of The recesses 15, being alineld inthe assembled between thebattery plates 'a llarge cross-sectional area of' the'felectrolyte' which is -entirely unobstructed, so that the internal resistance ofthe battery Ais reduced to a mini'- mum.` Itywill'alsobe seen that the extension ofthe fingers 14 between lthe'lplates will effectually '(prevent warping, buckling or mechanical isplacem'entof theplates such as to *bring them into contact with each other.

It will alsoibe seen that any Amaterial which isdSpIaced, from the sides of the `plates, in the spaces between the lingers letl of the `separators, may'ffall freely into the-spaces '6 at the bottom of the jar', and such displaced material isthus prevented from lodging between theplates, whereby to constitute or to cause-'the formation 'of a short-circuiting connection betweenithem.v It will be' seen `further, that byfthe bevelling of the edges ofthe fingers 14,l1 the distance over the surface of the separator from a point of contact with one plate to a point of contact with another plate is considerably greater than the thickness of the separator, thus reducing 4 tht possibility of short-circuiting by the formation or deposit of conductive material upon the surface of the separator which is open to the electrolyte.

Now, having described our invention, what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:y

A plate separator for stora e batteries, comprising an integral sheet o electrolyteresistant insulating material rectangularly recessedfrom its lower edge to form a plurality of vertical transversely spaced fingers depending from the upper horizontal portion of the sheet, said upper horizontal portion being recessed centrally of its upper edge and perforate laterally of said central recess to receive supporting-rods, and the vertical edges of said de ending ngers being beveled at each side of t e sheet, whereby the shortest surface-,elements between the plateengaging surfaces of the sheet are of greater length than 'the thickness of the sheet.

LAWRENCE C. HIATT. DALLAS L. PORTER. 

